Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes

Blog

  • A ‘Cease Operations’ notice was posted on World Cafe Live’s door this week

    A ‘Cease Operations’ notice was posted on World Cafe Live’s door this week

    Is the World Cafe Live about to close for good?

    The West Philadelphia music venue has been embattled since the leadership team led by Joe Callahan took over from founder Hal Real in last spring.

    In May, workers walked out during a Suzanne Vega concert, complaining of “unfair treatment.” In July, the venue’s landlord, the University of Pennsylvania, delivered a notice to vacate, saying the WCL owed $1.29 million in rent and utilities.

    Callahan challenged that eviction notice with a counterclaim in Common Pleas Court, with no court date currently set.

    The venue has remained open as the drama has continued: the venue’s liquor license lapsed for weeks in the fall, and workers complained of light paychecks and firing without cause.

    And on Wednesday, the latest sign that the venue’s immediate future is in danger appeared taped to the doors of the building at 3025 Walnut St. that also houses Penn radio station WXPN-FM (88.5), a separate business.

    The Cease Operations – Stop Work Order that was taped to the door of the University City music venue World Cafe Live on Wednesday.

    In bold black lettering, the notice reads: “CEASE OPERATIONS — STOP WORK ORDER.”

    The notice “by order of the Department of Revenue” says the WCL, which consists of the 650-capacity downstairs Music Hall and 220-capacity Lounge, will be forced to close as of March 11 because it will lose its Commercial Activity License as a result of “serious tax violations.”

    The notice was attached to the glass doors to the venue early Wednesday but had been removed from there by the end of the business day. On Thursday morning, it was taped to the wall in the entryway, facing inward and partially hidden by a traffic cone.

    Penn wants to evict World Cafe Live, but the venue remains open. But for how long?

    Real founded the venue in 2004. It has served as a community hub as well as a home for XPN’s much-loved Free at Noon series for two decades. Does the “Stop Work Order” mean that it is bound to close for good in four weeks’ time?

    Not necessarily. The WCL has a fairly busy entertainment schedule booked between now and March 11, and some dates into May and June.

    XPN has brought the Free at Noon series back to the Walnut Street location after relocating to Ardmore Music Hall in November and December while the WCL’s liquor license was lapsed. There’s a sold-out show there on Friday with Sam Beam of Iron & Wine.

    Shows are slated for this weekend in the Music Hall with the Jazz Room: A Journey to New Orleans and a “Don’t Call Me White Girl” comedy show. Shows scheduled in the Lounge include comedian Reginald Ballard and vocalist Alex Moreno Singer.

    On March 11 — the date the stop-work notice cites as the deadline — the Poetry Cafe open-mic night is scheduled for the Lounge. Future dates include Joe Conklin & the City Rhythm Orchestra on March 20, and Martha Wash, a dance music vocalist and former member of the Weather Girls, on June 27.

    Whether those shows will come to pass depends on the status of the unpaid taxes, which are being billed to Real Entertainment Philadelphia Inc., the nonprofit that still bears its founder and former CEO’s name.

    World Cafe Live President and CEO J. Sean Diaz poses at the embattled West Philly music venue Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.

    Messages left for Callahan (who stepped down as CEO last fall but remains chair of the WCL board) and J. Sean Diaz, who is listed as the venue’s CEO and president on the World Cafe Live website, were not responded to on Thursday.

    Stern warnings of closure from the Philadelphia Department of Revenue also occurred during Real’s tenure, World Cafe Live insiders say. They were resolved when the venue caught up on its back taxes, allowing it to stay open.

    In a statement, the Philadelphia Department of Revenue said it is “unable to discuss specific taxpayers due to state confidentiality laws.”

    The city, the statement reads, “pursues license revocation when a business is unregistered, has a delinquent tax balance, and/or unfiled returns.”

    The posting of a revocation notice, the statement says, “indicates that the business is not tax compliant, and its removal generally indicates that the business has come into compliance.”

    This article has been updated with a statement from the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Revenue.

  • Nick Castellanos’ most memorable Phillies moments, from coincidental home runs to the ‘Miami Incident’

    Nick Castellanos’ most memorable Phillies moments, from coincidental home runs to the ‘Miami Incident’

    The Phillies released Nick Castellanos on Thursday after failing to find a trade partner for the 33-year old outfielder, three days before position players were scheduled to report to the team’s spring training facilities in Clearwater, Fla.

    Although the end of his time with the Phillies has been defined by a prolonged search to shed the $20 million left on his contract, Castellanos was one of the Phillies’ most intriguing characters, on and off the field.

    Here’s a look back at some of the right fielder’s most memorable moments from his time with the Phillies:

    A beer in the dugout, a benching, and a rift with his manager: Inside the final Phillies season for Nick Castellanos

    The Castellanos Curse

    Castellanos became known nationally for hitting home runs with bad timing for broadcasters. It began in an August 2020 game with the Reds when he hit a drive into deep left field while former Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman was apologizing for using a homophobic slur earlier in the broadcast.

    When the right fielder logged his first hit with the Phillies in a spring training game against the Blue Jays in 2022, the Toronto broadcasters were discussing pitching coach Pete Walker being charged with driving under the influence a day earlier.

    Castellanos caught Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy in the middle of a tribute to fallen service members on Veterans Day in 2022, lifting a homer to deep left field as the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast was returning from commercial in the bottom of the second.

    Eventually, he began delivering big hits at the same time as major news events or celebrity deaths. Castellanos hit a homer the day I-95 collapsed in Northeast Philadelphia on June 11, 2023.

    He hit a walk-off double on the day Willie Mays died in 2024; homered and hit a double on the day President Donald Trump was shot at during a rally in Butler, Pa., in July 2024; and hit a drive into deep left field on the day former President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. He hit a spring training homer on the day Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham announced his retirement in March, although Graham came out of retirement and returned to the Eagles during the 2025 season.

    A surge of bets on Castellanos to hit a homer on April 21, the day the Vatican announced the death of Pope Francis, caused FanDuel Sportsbook to temporarily lock the outfielder’s odds. Notably, Castellanos was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts that day, and the Phillies lost to the Mets, 5-4.

    Hayes: Selfish, insubordinate Nick Castellanos is released by Phillies then issues a wild manifesto on Instagram

    There is something to suggest that Castellanos was hitting coincidental homers long before anyone was paying attention. He hit his first minor league homer on May 1, 2011, the same day that former President Barack Obama announced the U.S. had killed Osama bin Laden.

    Father and son

    Castellanos’ son Liam became a good-luck charm for the Phillies as the team made its run to the National League Championship Series in 2023. Liam, who lives in Florida during the school year, witnessed his father play arguably the best two games of his career when the son came to Philadelphia for the team’s division series against the Braves.

    With his son in the stands, Castellanos became the first player in MLB history to hit two home runs in back-to-back postseason games.

    Liam joined the Phillies at Xfinity Live after they beat the Braves, 3-1, in the NLDS and stuck around for the rest of the postseason, until the Phils fell in a seven-game NLCS to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

    Liam returned for Red October in 2024 and worked as his father’s good luck charm again. Castellanos claimed a walk-off hit in game two of the NLDS against the Mets to tie the series at one game apiece.

    But the Phils’ ride was shorter that season as the Mets won the series in four games.

    The team’s postseason luck ran dry in 2025, as the Dodgers beat the Phillies in four games of the division series. Castellanos’ final act in a Phillies uniform was to embrace teammate Orion Kerkering after the pitcher made a season-ending errant throw to home in the bottom of the 11th.

    The ‘Miami Incident’

    Not all of Castellanos’ moments with the Phillies were highlights. The outfielder took time to address what he called the “Miami incident” in his farewell letter to Philadelphia, which he posted to Instagram on Thursday afternoon.

    Castellanos was benched last season during a road series against his hometown team, the Miami Marlins, ending an iron man streak of 236 games. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said the decision to sit Castellanos was due to an “inappropriate comment” the outfielder made after being removed in the eighth inning of the previous game.

    Castellanos’ letter says that he brought a can of Presidente beer into the dugout after being removed from the game. The beer was taken from Castellanos’ hand before he could take a sip, but the outfielder still let Thomson know he was frustrated.

    “I then sat next to Rob and let him know that too much slack in some areas and to [sic] tight of restrictions in others are not condusive [sic] to us winning,” Castellanos wrote.

    Castellanos added that he apologized to Thomson and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski after the incident. Dombrowski said Thursday that Castellanos’ behavior in Miami did not directly contribute to the team’s decision to release him.

  • Trump’s EPA revokes scientific finding that underpinned U.S. fight against climate change

    Trump’s EPA revokes scientific finding that underpinned U.S. fight against climate change

    WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressive move by the Republican president to roll back climate regulations.

    The rule finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency rescinds a 2009 government declaration known as the endangerment finding that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. The Obama-era finding is the legal underpinning of nearly all climate regulations under the Clean Air Act for motor vehicles, power plants and other pollution sources that are heating the planet.

    The repeal eliminates all greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks and could unleash a broader undoing of climate regulations on stationary sources such as power plants and oil and gas facilities, experts say. Legal challenges are near certain.

    President Donald Trump called the move “the single largest deregulatory action in American history, by far,” while EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called the endangerment finding “the Holy Grail of federal regulatory overreach.”

    Trump called the endangerment finding “one of the greatest scams in history,” claiming falsely that it “had no basis in fact” or law. “On the contrary, over the generations, fossil fuels have saved millions of lives and lifted billions of people out of poverty all over the world,” Trump said at a White House ceremony, although scientists across the globe agree that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are driving catastrophic heat waves and storms, droughts and sea level rise.

    Environmental groups described the move as the single biggest attack in U.S. history against federal authority to address climate change. Evidence backing up the endangerment finding has only grown stronger in the 17 years since it was approved, they said.

    “This action will only lead to more climate pollution, and that will lead to higher costs and real harms for American families,” said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund, adding that the consequences would be felt on Americans’ health, property values, water supply and more.

    The EPA also said it will propose a two-year delay to a Biden-era rule restricting greenhouse gas emissions by cars and light trucks. And the agency will end incentives for automakers who install automatic start-stop ignition systems in their vehicles. The device is intended to reduce emissions, but Zeldin said “everyone hates” it.

    Zeldin, a former Republican congressman who was tapped by Trump to lead EPA last year, has criticized his predecessors in Democratic administrations, saying that in the name of tackling climate change, they were “willing to bankrupt the country.”

    The endangerment finding “led to trillions of dollars in regulations that strangled entire sectors of the United States economy, including the American auto industry,” Zeldin said. “The Obama and Biden administrations used it to steamroll into existence a left-wing wish list of costly climate policies, electric vehicle mandates and other requirements that assaulted consumer choice and affordability.”

    The endangerment finding and the regulations based on it “didn’t just regulate emissions, it regulated and targeted the American dream. And now the endangerment finding is hereby eliminated,” Zeldin said.

    Supreme Court has upheld the endangerment finding

    The Supreme Court ruled in a 2007 case that planet-warming greenhouse gases, caused by the burning of oil and other fossil fuels, are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

    Since the high court’s decision, in a case known as Massachusetts v. EPA, courts have uniformly rejected legal challenges to the endangerment finding, including a 2023 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

    The endangerment finding is widely considered the legal foundation that underpins a series of regulations intended to protect against threats made increasingly severe by climate change. That includes deadly floods, extreme heat waves, catastrophic wildfires and other natural disasters in the United States and around the world.

    Gina McCarthy, a former EPA administrator who served as White House climate adviser in the Biden administration, called the Trump administration’s actions reckless. “This EPA would rather spend its time in court working for the fossil fuel industry than protecting us from pollution and the escalating impacts of climate change,” she said.

    Former President Barack Obama said on X that repeal of the endangerment finding will make Americans “less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change — all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.”

    Dr. Lisa Patel, a pediatrician and executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, said Trump’s action “prioritizes the profits of big oil and gas companies and polluters over clean air and water” and children’s health.

    “As a result of this repeal, I’m going to see more sick kids come into the Emergency Department having asthma attacks and more babies born prematurely,” she said in a statement. “My colleagues will see more heart attacks and cancer in their patients.”

    David Doniger, a climate expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Trump and Zeldin are trying to use repeal of the finding as a “kill shot’’ that would allow the administration to make nearly all climate regulations invalid. The repeal could erase current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from cars, factories, power plants and other sources and could hinder future administrations from imposing rules to address global warming.

    The EPA action follows an executive order from Trump that directed the agency to submit a report on “the legality and continuing applicability” of the endangerment finding. Conservatives and some congressional Republicans have long sought to undo what they consider overly restrictive and economically damaging rules to limit greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

    Withdrawing the endangerment finding “is the most important step taken by the Trump administration so far to return to energy and economic sanity,” said Myron Ebell, a conservative activist who has questioned the science behind climate change.

    Tailpipe emission limits targeted

    Zeldin and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have moved to drastically scale back limits on tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks. Rules imposed under Democratic President Joe Biden were intended to encourage U.S. automakers to build and sell more electric vehicles. The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    The Trump administration announced a proposal in December to weaken vehicle mileage rules for the auto industry, loosening regulatory pressure on automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and trucks. The EPA said its two-year delay to a Biden-era rule on greenhouse gas emissions by cars and light trucks will give the agency time to develop a plan that better reflects the reality of slower EV sales, while promoting consumer choice and lowering prices.

    Environmental groups said the plan would keep polluting, gas-burning cars and trucks on U.S. roads for years to come, threatening the health of millions of Americans, particularly children and the elderly.

  • Howard Lutnick’s name is on the library at Haverford College. Will that change after his appearance in the Epstein files?

    Howard Lutnick’s name is on the library at Haverford College. Will that change after his appearance in the Epstein files?

    As U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein gains new scrutiny, questions have emerged on Haverford College’s campus about how to address their mega-donor’s involvement.

    Lutnick, a 1983 Haverford graduate who has donated $65 million to the college and whose name is on the school’s library, had contact with the late financier as recently as 2018, long after Epstein pleaded guilty to obtaining a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute, according to documents released by the Justice Department. And during congressional testimony this week, he said he visited the sex offender’s private island with his family in 2012. That’s even though Lutnick previously said he had not been in a room with Epstein, whom he found “disgusting,” since 2005.

    At Haverford, where the library at the heart of campus is named after Lutnick, two students have floated a proposal to remove Lutnick’s name from the building and wrote a resolution that could be discussed at a forthcoming student-led meeting, according to the Bi-College News, the student newspaper for Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges. Fliers that say “Howard Lutnick is in the Epstein Files — What Now?” have been posted around campus, according to the publication.

    And in an email to campus Thursday, Wendy Raymond, president of the highly selective liberal arts college on the Main Line, said she and the board of managers are monitoring the situation.

    “We recognize that association with Epstein raises ethical questions,” she wrote. “While Secretary Lutnick’s association with Epstein has no direct bearing on the College, as an institution, we are committed to our core values and cognizant of broader ethical implications raised by these disclosures.”

    Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listens during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House earlier this month.

    A Commerce Department spokesperson told the Associated Press last month that Lutnick had had “limited interactions” with Epstein, with his wife in attendance, and had not been accused of “wrongdoing.” Lutnick told lawmakers this week: “I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with him.”

    Lutnick, formerly chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., a New York City financial firm that lost hundreds of employees in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, served on Haverford’s board for 21 years and once chaired it. In addition to the library, the indoor tennis and track center bears the name of his brother Gary Lutnick, a Cantor Fitzgerald employee who was killed on 9/11, and the fine arts building carries the name of his mother, Jane Lutnick, a painter. He also funded the college’s Cantor Fitzgerald Art Gallery.

    In making a $25 million gift to the college in 2014 — which remains tied for the largest donation Haverford has received — Lutnick told The Inquirer the college had helped him during a particularly difficult period. He lost his mother to cancer when he was a high school junior, and one week into his freshman year at Haverford, where he was an economics major, his father died as the result of a tragic medical mistake.

    Haverford gets record gift from an alum the college helped save

    The then-president of Haverford called Lutnick and told him his four years at Haverford would be free.

    “Haverford was there for me,” Lutnick said, “and taught me what it meant to be a human being.”

    Lutnick’s gift was used to make the most significant upgrades to the library in 50 years. Lutnick left Haverford’s board in 2015.

    He was confirmed as commerce secretary a year ago, after President Donald Trump took office for the second time. Since the Epstein documents were released, Lutnick has faced bipartisan calls to resign.

    Some in the Haverford community have spoken out online about Lutnick’s ties to Epstein.

    “How soon can we petition to make Magill Magill again,” one alum, who said they were at Haverford when Lutnick attended, wrote anonymously on a Reddit thread, referring to the library’s prior name. “More urgently, does Haverford plan to express compassion and support for the survivors and publicly condemn Lutnick for his involvement?”

    The Haverford Survivor Collective’s executive board, a group founded in 2023 and led by Haverford students and survivors of sexual assault, also called on the college to “re-examine” its ties to Lutnick.

    “At what point will the College confront its relationship with this individual?” the group asked. “At what point will it say, unequivocally, ‘enough is enough’? At what point does a reluctance to do so extend beyond mere negligence into a moral failing?”

    The outside of the Lutnick Library at Haverford College

    Push to rename the library

    Earlier this month during a Plenary Resolution Writing Workshop — part of Haverford’s student self-governance process — students Ian Trask and Jay Huennekens put forth a resolution that would change the name of the library, the student newspaper reported.

    At plenary sessions, which take place twice a year in the fall and spring, the student body discusses and votes on important campus issues. On March 23, a packet of plenary resolutions will be released to the student body, with the plenary session scheduled for March 29.

    “We feel that it is important that the college reflect the values of the student body, and that those values do not align with the Trump administration or the associates of Jeffrey Epstein,” the students told the Bi-Co News.

    Attempts to reach Trask and Huennekens were unsuccessful.

    If the student resolution passes, it would go to Raymond for signing.

    But even then, it’s no easy feat to remove a name from a college building. There would be a review process involving the board of managers that could take a while.

    Under Haverford’s gift policy, the school can rename a building if “the continued use of the name may be deemed detrimental to the College, or if circumstances change regarding the reason for the naming.”

    Raymond would have to convene a committee, consider that committee’s recommendations, and make her recommendation to the external affairs committee of the board of managers and its chair and vice chair. The external affairs committee then would make its recommendation to the full board of managers.

    Bryn Mawr College to remove former president’s name from library after legacy of antisemitism and white supremacy

    At nearby Bryn Mawr College, it took years before M. Carey Thomas’ name was removed from the library. Thomas, who was Bryn Mawr’s second president, serving from 1894 to 1922, was a leading suffragist, but also was reluctant to admit Black students and refused to hire Jewish faculty.

    In 2017, then-Bryn Mawr president Kim Cassidy issued a moratorium on using Carey’s name while the college studied how to handle the matter. A committee in 2018 decided students, faculty, students, and staff should no longer refer to the library using Thomas’ name, but decided to leave the inscription and add a plaque explaining the complicated history.

    The college faced continued pressure from students to take further action and removed Thomas’ name in 2023.

    Other colleges have taken similar actions. Princeton University in 2020 stripped former President Woodrow Wilson’s name from its public affairs school and presidential college.

  • A beer in the dugout, a benching, and a rift with his manager: Inside the final Phillies season for Nick Castellanos

    A beer in the dugout, a benching, and a rift with his manager: Inside the final Phillies season for Nick Castellanos

    CLEARWATER, Fla. — After getting replaced for defense late in a close game, the worst defensive outfielder in baseball since 2022 based on defensive runs saved brought a beer into the dugout and lectured his manager.

    Brought a beer into the dugout.

    Let those words wash over you. They belong, incidentally, to the player himself. The Phillies released Nick Castellanos on Thursday after trying to trade him for three months. And when the deed was finally done, the $100 million right fielder laid bare the June 16 incident in Miami that precipitated his unceremonious departure.

    Are they better? Are their top two stars still elite? Nine questions for the Phillies as spring training opens

    “I brought a Presedente [sic] into the dugout,” Castellanos said in a handwritten letter posted on Instagram. “I then sat right next to Rob [Thomson] and let him know that too much slack in some areas and to [sic] tight of restrictions in others are not condusive [sic] to us winning.”

    That was 241 days ago.

    And it was the beginning of the end.

    There were other tension points. Castellanos, a two-time All-Star with 250 career homers and an everyday player in the majors for a decade, lost his job in August while producing at a less-than-league-average clip. In September, he accused Thomson of “questionable” communication.

    As president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski put it in explaining why the Phillies-Castellanos relationship soured like a lemon with $20 million left on the final season of his five-year contract, “I don’t think it was necessarily one incident.”

    Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski talks to the media on Thursday after releasing Nick Castellanos.

    In truth, Castellanos was always a strange match for Philly.

    His introductory news conference in March 2022 — after signing the contract that put the Phillies over the luxury tax for the first time in their history — revealed an edgy personality, a directness that didn’t always sit well with everyone even in the clubhouse, and a penchant for taking things personally.

    “He’s a little different,” former teammate Whit Merrifield said recently on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “And he’ll tell you, he’s just a little different. He’s very, very blunt. He’ll tell you exactly how he feels.

    “There are just some things that happened that Casty didn’t like along the way, and he’s not the guy to hide his feelings or sugarcoat it. And I think it just kind of came to a head.”

    Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford are in the Phillies’ plans for 2026 — and have the locker placement to prove it

    It didn’t help that Castellanos struggled on the field in 2022, his first year with the Phillies, posting the lowest full-season OPS of his career (.694) — until he matched it last year.

    He often quibbled over his spot in the batting order, especially when Thomson dropped him to the seventh or eighth spot, insisting he felt more comfortable in the top half of a lineup. And when coaches worked with him at, say, reducing his rate of swings at pitches out of the zone, Castellanos often pushed back, noting that he’s “always been a free swinger.”

    But Castellanos could also be supportive of teammates. He encouraged young outfielder Mickey Moniak to stay around the team after breaking his hand on the last day of spring training. And after Orion Kerkering made a series-ending error in the postseason last year, Castellanos raced in from right field to be at his side.

    “He treated me and my family wonderfully,” left fielder Brandon Marsh said Thursday. “He’s always got my respect and I always got love for [No.] 8.”

    Nick Castellanos bookended his four-year run as a Phillie with .694 OPS seasons.

    It was all part of the enigma of Castellanos. Dombrowski knew all about it. He was running the Tigers’ baseball operations in 2010 when Detroit drafted Castellanos out of high school.

    “He’s been a very good player, he’s had a nice career, and he probably will continue to do so,” Dombrowski said. “Things happened, things changed over a 15-year period, and I’ve still had a good relationship with Nick and his family members. You always wish things end up on a good point, but it doesn’t always happen.”

    In his four-page letter, Castellanos thanked owner John Middleton, Dombrowski, staff members, outfield coach Paco Figueroa (who often coached Castellanos’ son, Liam, on the field before games), and “my teammates,” though none by name.

    Notably omitted: Thomson and hitting coach Kevin Long.

    Orion Kerkering has faced his NLDS error head-on, and with a little humor: ‘I’m not going to let it define me’

    But Castellanos didn’t spare the details of his confrontation with Thomson in what he termed the “Miami incident.” He gave a “shout out” to special assistant Howie Kendrick and teammates for “taking the beer out of my hands before I could take a sip,” as if actively drinking would’ve made the whole thing worse.

    Castellanos noted that he met with Dombrowski and Thomson after the game.

    “We aired our differences,” Castellanos wrote, “and the conversation ended with me apologizing for letting my emotions get the best of me.”

    Thomson benched Castellanos the next day, ending a streak of 236 consecutive games started. Castellanos conceded that “there are rules and I broke one in Miami.” Dombrowski said the Phillies didn’t consider a harsher punishment, such as releasing Castellanos midway through last season.

    Nick Castellanos played for manager Rob Thomson with the Phillies since 2022.

    “That [incident] wasn’t the final or determining factor,” Dombrowski. “Because if it was, we would’ve done it at that particular time.”

    Beyond that, Dombrowski wasn’t interested in discussing an incident that happened seven months ago. Besides, by the time the Phillies got knocked out of the postseason in the divisional round, it was clear to everyone that they were moving on from Castellanos, who said in September that he and Thomson didn’t talk much last season.

    Dombrowski called Castellanos after the playoffs and said he thought a change of scenery was best. Castellanos didn’t disagree.

    “I think that we all felt that it was probably in the best interest,” Dombrowski said, “to have a change of scenery.”

    Ranking the Phillies’ top 10 prospects: Key question, 2026 outlook for each

    Throughout the offseason, Dombrowski didn’t conceal the Phillies’ intention to move on from Castellanos. Early in the winter, they were hoping to find a team that would pay more of Castellanos’ salary.

    But over the last few weeks, they hoped to simply move him off the roster, even if it meant paying down most of his salary. In releasing Castellanos, the Phillies must pay his $20 million salary minus the league minimum salary ($780,000) if he signs elsewhere.

    “I know the dollars weren’t standing in the way at this point of clubs taking him,” Dombrowski said.

    Maybe the whole thing will be humbling to Castellanos. He punctuated his letter with this: “I love this game. I love being a teammate and I am addicted to winning. I will learn from this.”

    But after the eighth inning June 16 in Miami, it wasn’t ever going to be with the Phillies.

  • Speaker Johnson says he disapproves of Justice Department logging lawmaker searches of Epstein files

    Speaker Johnson says he disapproves of Justice Department logging lawmaker searches of Epstein files

    WASHINGTON — Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday that he did not think it was appropriate for the Justice Department to be tracking the search histories of lawmakers who are reviewing files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

    The rare rebuke to the Trump administration came as photographs emerged revealing an apparent index of records reviewed by a Democratic member of Congress who was among the lawmakers given an opportunity to read less-redacted versions of the Epstein files at a department annex and on department-owned computers.

    Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate what he characterized as “spying,” and Johnson, a close ally of President Donald Trump, offered his own scolding when asked about the issue Thursday.

    “I think members should obviously have the right to peruse those at their own speed and with their own discretion. I don’t think it’s appropriate for anybody to be tracking that,” Johnson told reporters. “I will echo that to anybody involved with the DOJ — and I’m sure it was an oversight.”

    The Justice Department said in a statement that, as part of the process of permitting lawmakers to review the Epstein files, it “logs all searches made on its systems to protect against the release of victim information.”

    Photographs taken during Attorney General Pam Bondi’s hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday showed her with a printout that said “Jayapal Pramila Search History” and that listed a series of documents that were apparently reviewed. Pramila Jayapal, a Democratic congresswoman from Washington state, was among the Judiciary Committee members who pressed Bondi during the hearing about the department’s handling of the Epstein files.

    Jayapal called it “totally unacceptable” and said lawmakers will be “demanding a full accounting” of how the department is using the search history.

    “Bondi has enough time to spy on Members of Congress, but can’t find it in herself to apologize to the survivors of Epstein’s horrific abuse,” Jayapal said in a post on X.

    The Justice Department statement did not explain why Bondi came to the House hearing with information on lawmaker searches.

    A bipartisan contingent of lawmakers has traveled in recent days to a Justice Department outpost to review less-redacted records from the files, but some who have seen the documents have complained that too much information about Epstein associates remains withheld from view. The Trump administration Justice Department said last month that it was releasing more than 3 million pages along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images related to Epstein investigations.

    In a statement, Raskin said that not only had the Justice Department withheld records from lawmakers “but now Bondi and her team are spying on members of Congress conducting oversight in yet another blatant attempt to intrude into Congress’s oversight processes.”

    He added: “DOJ must immediately cease tracking any Members’ searches, open up the Epstein review to senior congressional staff, and publicly release all files — with all the survivors’ information, and only the survivors’ information, properly redacted — as required by federal law.”

  • Deaths in Iran’s crackdown on protests reach at least 7,000, activists say

    Deaths in Iran’s crackdown on protests reach at least 7,000, activists say

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The death toll from a crackdown over Iran’s nationwide protests last month has reached at least 7,003 people killed with many more still feared dead, activists said Thursday.

    The continued rise in the tally of the dead from the demonstrations adds to the overall tensions facing Iran both inside the country and abroad as it tries to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program. A second round of talks remains up in the air as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed his case directly with President Donald Trump to intensify his demands on Tehran in the negotiations.

    “There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference,” Trump wrote afterward on his Truth Social website.

    “Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a Deal, and they were hit. … That did not work well for them. Hopefully this time they will be more reasonable and responsible.”

    Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday that Iran should come to an agreement with US “very quickly.” Asked about his timeline for striking a deal with Iran over its nuclear program, Trump said, “I guess over the next month, something like that.”

    Trump, who is seeking a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program and who also has suggested the U.S. might take military action in response to Iran’s crackdown on protesters, warned Iran that failure to reach a deal with his administration would be “very traumatic.”

    Meanwhile, Netanyahu told reporters before boarding a plane to return to Israel that Trump believes that his terms and Iran’s “understanding that they made a mistake the last time when they did not reach an agreement, may lead them to agree to conditions that will enable a good agreement to be reached.”

    Netanyahu said he “did not hide” his own “general skepticism” about any deal, and stressed that any agreement must include concessions about Iran’s ballistic missiles program and support for militant proxies, not just the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. He described talks with the U.S. president as “excellent.”

    Meanwhile, Iran at home faces still-simmering anger over its wide-ranging suppression of all dissent in the Islamic Republic. That rage may intensify in the coming days as families of the dead begin marking the traditional 40-day mourning for the loved ones.

    Activists’ death toll slowly rises

    The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency — which offered the latest figure of 7,003 people killed, including 214 government forces — has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists in Iran to verify deaths. The continuing rise in the death toll has come as the agency slowly is able to crosscheck information as communication remains difficult with those inside of the Islamic Republic.

    Iran’s government offered its only death toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.

    The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.

    Diplomacy over Iran continues

    Senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani met Wednesday in Qatar with Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Qatar hosts a major U.S. military installation that Iran attacked in June, after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June. Larijani also met with officials of the Palestinian Hamas militant group, and in Oman with Tehran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen on Tuesday.

    Larijani told Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network that Iran did not receive any specific proposal from the U.S. in Oman, but acknowledged that there was an “exchange of messages.”

    Qatar has been a key negotiator in the past with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf. Its state-run Qatar News Agency reported that ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke with Trump about “the current situation in the region and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and strengthening regional security and peace,” without elaborating.

    The U.S. has moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement and have the firepower necessary to strike the Islamic Republic should Trump choose to do so.

    Already, U.S. forces have shot down a drone they said got too close to the Lincoln and came to the aid of a U.S.-flagged ship that Iranian forces tried to stop in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

    Trump told the news website Axios that he was considering sending a second carrier to the region. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” he said.

    Concern over Nobel Peace laureate

    Meanwhile, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was “deeply appalled by credible reports detailing the brutal arrest, physical abuse and ongoing life‑threatening mistreatment” of 2023 Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi.

    The committee that awards the prize said it had information Mohammadi had been beaten during her arrest in December and continued to be mistreated. It called for her immediate and unconditional release.

    “She continues to be denied adequate, sustained medical follow‑up while being subjected to heavy interrogation and intimidation,” the committee said. “She has fainted several times, suffers from dangerously high blood pressure and has been prevented from accessing necessary follow‑up for suspected breast tumors.”

    Iran just sentenced Mohammadi, 53, to seven more years in prison. Supporters had warned for months before her arrest that she was at risk of being put back into prison after she received a furlough in December 2024 over medical concerns.

  • Selfish, insubordinate Nick Castellanos released by Phillies, then issues a wild manifesto on Instagram

    Selfish, insubordinate Nick Castellanos released by Phillies, then issues a wild manifesto on Instagram

    This is a make-or-break season for the Phillies, so they aren’t taking any chances with any clubhouse cancers.

    A fading talent who will be 34 in less than a month, malcontent right fielder Nick Castellanos was released by the club on Thursday afternoon. That was one day after pitchers and catchers officially reported and four days before full-squad workouts begin, but position players typically trickle in a day or two early.

    The Phillies didn’t want Castellanos showing up. Not after the crap he pulled last season, when he put his desires above the team. And not after the crap he pulled Thursday. In fact, nobody might want Castellanos after his latest stunt.

    Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford are in the Phillies’ plans for 2026 — and have the locker placement to prove it

    It will cost the Phillis the last $20 million on the five-year, $100 million contract that he has never played up to. Twenty mil is a bargain to remove a player like this.

    Their decision to release Castellanos immediately gained merit. Upon his release, Castellanos posted on Instagram a page-and-a-half screed scrawled on loose-leaf notebook paper explaining the notorious incident in Miami last season that betrayed his selfishness, insubordination, and disrespect for the game.

    It was a manifesto that would have made Sam Hinkie proud.

    The details of the incident had been shrouded in mystery. The Phillies said only that Castellanos had been insubordinate to Phillies manager Rob Thomson. Castellanos refused to provide details. As it turns out, according to his post, Castellanos actually brought a beer from the clubhouse to the bench, and then began berating his manager in front of the team.

    He should have been released that night.

    To review:

    On June 16 in Miami, Thomson replaced Castellanos in right field for a defensive replacement. Castellanos is rated by Baseball Savant as the second-worst outfielder in the majors since he arrived with the Phillies in 2022.

    Amid all of the bizarre aspects of the Castellanos situation, that Castellanos took offense to being replaced — a move that clearly benefited the team — is the most appalling aspect. Every star on the Phillies roster has sacrificed preferences at some point.

    Castellanos is a Florida native. He had friends and family in the ballpark that night. He was embarrassed. So, after he left the game, he went to the dugout, got a bottle of Presidenté, and went back to the dugout to insult his boss.

    The Phillies’ Zack Wheeler was given one of his ribs after surgery. Now he’s working to ‘do my thing’ once again.

    “I then sat right next to Rob and let him know that too much slack in some areas and to [sic] tight of restrictions in others are not condusive [sic] to us winning,” Castellanos wrote Thursday.

    You know what’s conducive to winning?

    Getting Nick Castellanos out of right field every chance you get.

    Castellanos wrote that, after the game, he, Thomson, and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski “[a]ired out our differences” in Thomson’s office and he apologized. Castellanos was benched for the next night’s game as punishment. He wrote that the team told him not to divulge the details of the incident.

    He also wrote that his confession Thursday was spurred not by any heartfelt impulse to make things right, but rather by pure, unadulterated self-preservation; as usual, Nick’s looking out for Nick. Castellanos wrote that he was preempting a story about the incident being written “without my consent or comment.”

    What’s going on in that mind of his? The media have sought his comment for months. The media do not need his consent to write about him.

    At any rate, to Thomson’s discredit, Castellanos got his way.

    David Murphy: Follow the money to find the secret to the 2026 Phillies roster

    Thomson never again pulled Castellanos for defensive purposes. By the end of the season, Castellanos was playing so poorly that he’d been reduced to a platoon role with Max Kepler.

    With Castellanos clearly poised to exit the team one way or another, Thomson was asked at the end of the season if he would have issues managing Castellanos again. Thomson said he would not have a problem.

    Castellanos clearly did have a problem with Thomson.

    As part of the Instagram post, Castellanos included a similar, separate goodbye message for the fans, his teammates, principal owner John Middleton, Dombrowski, and most Phillies personnel. He singled out outfield coach Paco Figueroa, who has spent endless hours working on Castellanos’ defense the past 3½ seasons (after Castellanos conceded that he wasn’t always engaged when playing outfield). To his credit, Castellanos, a converted infielder who is leaden-legged and devoid of outfield instinct, worked hard to improve as a fielder.

    Notably, though, Castellanos clearly made it a point to exclude Thomson in his thanks.

    That “apology” on June 16 certainly was not heartfelt.

    We’re not naive here. If Castellanos had earned his money at the plate, he’d still be a Phillie. If he’d hit .300 with 30 homers every year, he could’ve brought a keg into the dugout and done keg-stands. “Topper” would’ve held his feet.

    However, Castellanos hit just 82 home runs in the next four seasons, which tied for 60th among all players. His OPS of .732 ranked 130th, three points lower than former Phillies prospect Mickey Moniak.

    It will be interesting to see how other teams view Castellanos as a player and a person. Despite his oddities and antics, he remained a popular character in the Phillies’ clubhouse. He has a big personality, he works hard, he is kind, and he is a devoted father.

    There’s plenty of tread left on his tires. He’ll find a home with some team as a right-handed designated hitter. But he’ll be a DH with baggage.

    He wrote in his Miami manifesto:

    “I will learn from this.”

    We’ll see.

  • Injury slows Gabriel Rincones Jr.; Otto Kemp ‘for sure’ can be platoon LF; Andrew Painter has no limitations

    Injury slows Gabriel Rincones Jr.; Otto Kemp ‘for sure’ can be platoon LF; Andrew Painter has no limitations

    CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Phillies’ first full-squad workout isn’t until Monday, but many position players have already reported and have been filtering in and out of the BayCare Ballpark clubhouse.

    Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, Bryson Stott, Otto Kemp, Johan Rojas, Aidan Miller, and Justin Crawford are among the position players already at the Phillies facilities in Clearwater.

    So is outfield prospect Gabriel Rincones Jr., though he will start the spring a bit behind, as he is dealing with left knee soreness. Rincones, who will turn 25 next month, is still able to hit and throw, but the Phillies are taking it slow.

    Unable to trade him, Phillies release Nick Castellanos with $20 million left on his contract

    “I think you will see him in games, probably towards the middle of the schedule,” said manager Rob Thomson.

    President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski mentioned Rincones this offseason as a player the Phillies like “a lot.” Rincones hit 18 home runs in 119 triple-A games last season.

    During catchers’ batting practice on Thursday, Kemp was in left field shagging fly balls alongside Marsh. Kemp will also get infield work at third, second, and first base this spring.

    Kemp learned the outfield on the fly last year after he was called up to the major leagues, and posted minus-1 outs above average at the position. Thomson is confident that with a full spring of work, Kemp will develop into a serviceable platoon left fielder with Marsh.

    “I’m positive he can be a platoon outfielder, for sure,” Thomson said. “He’s a baseball player. He is. He figures it out and part of that is that he’s not scared of anything. If I asked him to go play center field, or go behind the plate and catch, he probably would. Not that I’d ask him, but he just goes out and plays a game. He’s got great aptitude. So he learns very quickly.”

    Also in the mix for the platoon spot with Marsh is Rojas and Bryan De La Cruz, a nonroster invite to spring training. Rojas is coming off a strong showing in the Dominican Winter League, where he slashed .302/.377/.395 in 34 games.

    “Controlling the strike zone is always a big thing for [Rojas], and using the short game is a big thing for him, and using the field,” Thomson said. “I think he’s improved over the winter, and it’ll be good to see him in here, see what he can do.”

    Andrew Painter will compete for a spot in the Phillies’ rotation this spring.

    Normal spring for Painter

    Top pitching prospect Andrew Painter will be under no limitations this spring as he competes for a spot in the Phillies’ rotation. He is set to appear in Grapefruit League games for the first time since prior to his ulnar collateral ligament injury and subsequent Tommy John elbow surgery in 2023.

    “I’m sure he’s excited. It’s really the first full year where he’s completely healthy, and where he’s got everything back,” Thomson said. “And when I’m talking about everything, I’m talking about stuff, combined with command and control. So I think he’s really excited. I would think so. I’m excited for him, because I’m thinking he’s really going to be a big piece for us.”

    Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford are in the Phillies’ plans for 2026 — and have the locker placement to prove it

    Extra bases

    The Phillies players who are planning to participate in the World Baseball Classic are set to leave camp on March 1, though some may stay longer before joining their federations to get as many starts as possible. … Miller took grounders at shortstop Thursday with Stott at second. Miller will also get reps at third base this spring. … The Phillies are scheduled to start live at-bats on Friday.

  • Change is hard for SEPTA and Philadelphia schools | Shackamaxon

    Change is hard for SEPTA and Philadelphia schools | Shackamaxon

    This week, the Philadelphia School District and SEPTA find it hard to change, the cost of free rides, and City Council finds it hard to listen to public comments.

    Schools and SEPTA in the same boat

    The debate over the school district’s facilities plan is giving me déjà vu. That’s because the city has already had this conversation. It was just that last time, it was about SEPTA’s proposed Bus Revolution.

    Like the facilities plan, Bus Revolution was designed to generate improvements within state-imposed fiscal constraints. By eliminating some bus routes and redrawing others to reduce delays, SEPTA aimed to provide more rides to more riders without hiring more operators or buying more buses. The new system — which is scheduled to debut later this year — promises faster and more frequent service.

    Where both plans struggle is on the political end. After all, opponents have a relatively straightforward story to tell: “Don’t eliminate our bus stop” and “Don’t close our school” are arguments that require little explanation. The benefits, on the other hand, sometimes require a multipage document, and neither institution has done a good job of communicating its goals at public meetings.

    That doesn’t change the fact that the proposed changes are for the better.

    For transit riders, more frequency is life-changing. For schools, shrinking the amount of physical space that needs to be maintained will facilitate investments and upgrades elsewhere. The two beleaguered organizations should compare notes on how best to eliminate their empty seats without provoking public uproar.

    SEPTA Transit Police patrol officers Brendan Dougherty (left) and Nicholas Epps (right) with the Fare Evasion Unit leave a bus at the 69th Street Transportation Center in September.

    No free rides

    New fare evasion-resistant gates are slowly going up across the SEPTA Metro system, with the Frankford Transportation Center the newest recipient of the upgrades. As is the case when SEPTA tries anything new, this has generated some consternation from riders. Specifically, people have wondered why SEPTA is spending on new fare gates given its well-noted fiscal woes. Given how much is spent just trying to collect the fare, why not just make transit free? After all, New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, wants to make the buses in his city fareless.

    While that all sounds exciting, it isn’t a good idea. Especially not here.

    The most obvious reason is that SEPTA simply can’t afford to give up the hundreds of millions of dollars it generates in fare revenue each year. In fact, SEPTA is already operating with a deficit, forcing a raid on its (already underfunded) capital budget. Going fare-free would put the future of the system entirely in the hands of Harrisburg politicos, who have demonstrated repeatedly they can’t be trusted to adequately fund the system.

    Plus, as New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber has said, transit is already affordable. A monthly bus pass is almost 90% cheaper than the average cost of car ownership. The biggest reasons people don’t ride are speed, frequency, and the behavior of other passengers, not fares.

    This isn’t just a question of money; it is also about rider and employee quality of life.

    After a surge in fare enforcement and a return to stiffer penalties, crime on the system is down to historic levels. This isn’t the first time that’s happened. While not every fare evader is a troublemaker, nearly everyone who does cause trouble starts by skipping the fare. The new fare gates led to a doubling of revenue at the 69th Street Transportation Center, but a reduction in aggressive behavior is just as valuable.

    In the Bay Area, the BART system has shown another benefit: reduced time spent on what it calls corrective maintenance. After installing new, evasion-resistant fare gates, the agency saw a 961-hour reduction in these issues over six months. That’s a serious drop in time spent cleaning up graffiti, fixing broken screens, and uh, picking up large messes. At many stations, the need was almost completely eliminated. As a regular transit rider, that sounds like it is worth a lot more than $3.

    Don’t just take my word for it. Iconic Philadelphia journalist Dan McQuade — who left us far too soon — looked into it, as well. McQuade wanted to believe in the idea, only to find that “free transit is not the sunshine-and-rainbows image I had in my head.”

    John McAuley, a Republican of Northwest Philadelphia, poses for a portrait outside his home in 2024.

    Public revolt

    One of the more entertaining parts of covering City Council is watching the public comment portion of its meetings. Council has attracted a growing chorus of regular speakers, many of whom have things to say that clearly frustrate the members. More recently, the Council’s peanut gallery has been joined by John McAuley, an activist with the Black MAGA group Flip Philly Red.

    Council President Kenyatta Johnson, who is usually a deft hand while leading proceedings, found himself going viral on social media after contentious exchanges with McAuley and longtime speaker Lynn Landes. Johnson sought to keep McAuley on a germane topic and criticized Landes for using the word alien.

    In general, Johnson and his colleagues are better off letting people speak and not reacting to what they have to say. Intervening ensured more people would see their speeches than would have otherwise.